Method of obtaining work from a vapor motor



Aug. 16, 1932. PROSSER 1,872,606

METHOD OF OBTAINING WORK FROM A VAPOR MOTOR Filed Nov. 12, 1926 6 Sheets-Sheet l 58 a /57 DEL! $753560 lnve 1T 1 or /Emm Wm B5 T Joseph G. Prosser 62 I byWMd JAWM A Hy s.

Aug. 16, 1932. J. cs. PROSSER METHOD OF OBTAINING WORK FROM A VAPOR MOTOR 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 12 1926 lnvenTor. Joseph G. Presser WM WA W ATTys.

Aug. 16, 1932. l PROSSER 1,872,606

METHOD OF OBTAINING WORK FROM A VAPOR MOTOR Filed Nov. 12, 1926 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Fig.7.

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I doseph G. Presser WMW Aug. 16, 1932. J, PROSSER 1,872,606

METHOD OF OBTAINING WORK FROM A VAPOR MOTOR Filed Nov. 12, 1926 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Fig.9.

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Aug. 16, 1932. J. G. PROSSER 1,872,606

METHOD OF OBTAINING WORK FROM A VAPOR MOTOR Filed Nov. 12, 1926 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 lnvenTor. Joseph G. Presser byfuuwl Jrfewmj.

ATTys.

Aug. 16, 1932. PRQSSER 1,872,606

METHOD OF OBTAINING WORK FROM A VAPOR MOTOR Filed Nov. 12, 1926 6 Sheets-$heet 6 lnvenTor Joseph G. Frosser ATTys.

Patented Aug. 16, 1932 JOSEPH G. FROSSER, F CHICAGG, ILLINOIS ivrnrrronor onrainine WORK rnorvra varoa oron Y Application filed'Noveniber 12, 1926, Serial No. 14?,875, and in Great Britain 0ctober25, 19,26.

This-invention relates to a vapor motor, such, for example, as t 1e steam-engine or steam turbine, and tea method of obtaining work therefrom. ln my prior lleissuelat- 5 ent No. 14,168 of July 18, 1916, the novel principle of operation of the vapor. motor was set forth involving the correlation of the volume and quality of the vapor admitted to the motor, the amount of heat supplied from outside sources independently of the working vapor to the working vapor, the other thermal conditions, the structural characteristics effecting thermal conditions and the speed of themovable element so as to control the quality of the working vapor and preferably to cause the working vapor to be in not less thana saturated condition at exhaust. Thus a superior efficiency in the use of vapor such .as steam was obtained. and the designing of o the engine reduced toan exact science. .But it was assumed that the exhausting of the steam above the. saturated condition orin a superheated condition represented a thermal loss and a loss in capacity.

' 515 So also the establishment and maintenance of the required correlation was principally determined by the speed or" the movable element based upon the indicator card and weighing tests. p i 8 'One of the objects of the present invention is automatically to establish and maintain under varying running conditions the required correlation of the aforesaid inven 'tion from the quality of the exhaust vapor. Since under the normal range of operating conditions, as, for example, when an engine is exhausting to the atmosphere or into a condenser of constant back pressure, the temperature of the exhaust vapor is an exact the principle or" the calorimeter and since under such conditions any rise in the quality against a varying back pressure, as might ,vide for the control ofthe .heat supplied J criterion of its quality as demonstrated by occur in a condenser, the temperature-of a given quality of theexhaust vapor atthe exhaust will. depend uponthe back pressure, it is a further object of the invention to proindependently of any variation in the back pressure preferably by the variation, in the differential between the temperature of the vapor at the exhaust andat the source of back pressure.

'lhe natureand objects of the invention 7 will appear more fully from the accompanying description and drawings and will be particularly pointed out in the claim.

The invention is applicable to a wide variety of motors and to various expansive vapors. It is conveniently disclosed herein in various of its phases in connection with a single cylinder reciprocating engine, a multi-expansion reciprocating engine and a multistage turbine, all particularly designed to employ steam. 'But these, are to be taken as only illustrative of the invention.

Since in the, aforesaidpatentthe fundamental principle of, correlation by which con- 7,5

*trol 01": the quality of the working. steam is effected is fully set forth, and since the priniples of the present-"inventionv are applicable to a wide varietyv of constructions, 'aswillbe readily understood by anyone skilled in the art, it is only necessary here to illustrate and describe those features which are necessary toa disclosure ofthe. invention.

In the drawings: v y

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a quadruple expan- I sion steam engine of the'horizontal. type, shown more or less diagrammatically {and embodying features enabling it to utilize the principles of this invention.

Fig. 2 is a detail in cross section on the line 2+2 ofFig. 3. N Fig. 8 is an end elevation of the cylinders and the principal connections of the convstruct-ion shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. L is a detail in cross section of one of 9 the receivers. r I 4 Fig. -5 is a side elevation, looking toward the left, of the high pressure cylinder,

' wheel and governor.

Fig. 6 is a view in transversecross section of one of the cylinders taken through one of the ports as on the line 66 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 7 is a view in vertical cross section of one of the cylinders.

Fig. 8 is a view in transverse cross section taken on the line 88 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 9 is a plan View of a single cylinder steam reciprocating engine shown more or less diagrammatically to illustrate the application of features of the invention thereto.

Fig. 10 is a view in vertical cross section and particularly in side elevation of a threestage steam turbine with a construction embodied therein for utilizing the principles of this invention.

Fig. 11 is a detail in side elevation and partially in cross section and partially broken away to Show the principle of construction of the controlling device illustrated.

' Fig. 12 is a view similar to Fig. 3 illustrating a form of construction enabling the control to be effected from the exhaust at any stage.

Fig. 13 is a View similar to Fig. 10 illustratlng a form. of construction enabling the control to be effected from the exhaust at any stage;

desired.

Fig. .15 is a view, chiefly diagrammatic illustrating a simple form of construction enabling the control to be effected accurately when the vapor is exhausted from a reciproeating steam engine against back pressure subject to variations.

. Fig. 16 is a view similar to Fig. 15 showing a portion of such construction applicable under similar conditions to a turbine.

In the construction illustrated in the first eight figures of the drawings, the four cylinders 1, 2, 3 and 4, which utilize the steam in four stages of expansion, are shown arranged side by side and the respective pistons 5, 6, 7 and 8 thereof have their piston rods 9, 10, 11 and 12 respectively connected 'to cross heads 13, which in turn are connected by connecting rods 14 to cranks set at the proper angle in the main crank shaft 15 carrying the usual fly wheel 16.

Each cylinder and piston are shown as of the same construction, differing only in the dimensions required by the different stages of the expansion. Consequently it is necessary to illustrate and describe in detail but one of the cylinders. Each cylinder or unit is shown as of the single piston valve type which is often under the control of the shaft governor and which is'therefore also conveniently herein employed.

Referring now to Figs. 7 and 8 which show in considerable detail the construction of one of the units, it will be seen that the wall 17 is shaped to provide the cylindrical cavity 18 for the piston and, parallel therewith, a generallycylindrical passageway constituting at the central portion a steam chest 19 merging into passageways 20 for the piston heads of the slide valve and terminating at each end in the exhaust passages 21. The ends of the cylindrical cavity are closed by heads 22 and the ends of the passageway for the slide valve are closed by the head plates 23 and 24. Suitable acket chambers :25 are provided in the cylinder wall extending completely around the cylinder cavity 18 and the passageway for the slide valve. The heads 22 of the cylinder are also provided with jacket chambers 26 and the piston itself is hollow to provide the j acketing chamber 27. Pipes 28 convey the acketing medium to the jacket chambers 25, similar pipes 29 extending to the jacketing chambers 26 and a similar pipe 30 extends to the jacketing chambers 27 of the hollow piston, while suitable drainage connections are provided at 31, 32 and 33, respectively, from these acketing chambers. The pipes 28 and 31 thus constitute a passageway for the heat 'ing medium through the jacket chamber 25,

the pipes 29 and 32 such a passageway through the jacket chamber 26, and the pipes 30 and 33 such a passageway through the pistonj acket chamber. When steam is employed as the jacketing medium, the discharge or drainage portions of these passageways may have a common connection 3 1 to provide for drainage.

The piston rod 9, which is hollow, extends through a suitable packing gland 35, through the piston and continues as a hollow tail rod 36 through a packing gland 37 in the opposite head and through a second packing gland 38 into a hollow, closed tail rod casing 39 secured to the head. Thus it will be seen that 'J illustrated. A pipe 40 opening at the bottom of the piston jacket chamber 27 connects with an annular chamber 41 in the piston into which opens one end of a pipe 42 which extends through the hollow piston rod 36 and opens at its other end, when the piston is at one end of its stroke, into the annular chamber 13 in the packing gland 37. A discharge pipe 44 leads from this chamber and may be open to the atmosphere or toany pressure lower than that in the piston jacket. Consequently, each time the piston reaches the said end of its stroke, the condensate is blown out through the pipe 14.

The admission and exhaust of steam to and from the cylinder cavity 18 is shown as coni opposite end in a closed hollow casing 47 9 the admission and exhaust ports 51. These ports extend entirely around the bushings so that the pistonheads are balanced. v i

The jaclreting system thus illustrated with the various pipes leading the'reto enable the F10 heating-medium, such as steam, to supply "heat to the jacketing chambers.

v The steam admitted to the engine is supplied through a pipe 52 controlled by a throttie valve 53 and enters the steam chest 19 of the high pressure cylinder 1. Upon exhaust from the high pressure cylinder,- the'steam a rece1ver 54 and from thisjinto the steam H chest on the next cylinder 2. From this cylin- 20 der the steam is exhausted into a cylinder 55 and thus the steam is carried through the succeeding cylinders and finally exhausted into the atmosphere, into a condenser or elsewhere, as may be desired.

' Thereceivers 54, 55, etc., are eachprovided with means for enabling heat to be supplied to the steam exhausted from one cylinder and before its admissionto the next cylinder or between the stages of expansion in order t0 maintain its quality or to superheat it to any 'required extent. The pipes connecting the fcylinders and receivers are also preferably provided with similar means for the same reason. A simple form of construction of the receivers-and connections is shown for the purpose of illustration in Figs. 2 and 4. The receiver 54 is shown as casing in which is mounted a hollow casing 57. This casing 57 is provided with a series of tubes 58 ex- 340 tending transversely thereof and *open at their ends. The exhaust connection 59' passes through the wall of the casing 54 and opens into the interior of the casing 57 The connection 60 to the next cylinder opens out fromthe interior or" the casing 57 and passes through the wall of the casing 54. The aclreting medium is admitted through the pipe 1 and fills the space between the casings 54 I and 57. The pipe 62 forms the exit from the spa'ce between the casin s for the' acketing medium which, in the case of steam, is in the form of condensate and is drained out throu h this pipe.

a: a L I 1 The connectlons between tne receivers and the cylinders are preferably formed by enclosing one pipe within another, as shown in Fig'. 2. Theinterior pipe transmits the working vapor or steam, while the outer pipe 64 forms a casing providing the jacke ing space65. The jacireting medium is supplied to this space'65 in any suitable man-- "ner. As illustrated, branch pipes 66 extend from thepipe 61-to the jacketingspace at bothsides of the receiver and the discharge or -dra-inage is into the-space between the passes through the exhaust passages 21 into casingsei the receiver and thence through the pipe 62.

The principleo'f correlation by which the cumulative losses due to condensation are eliminated andthe absolute control o'fflthe quality of the working vapor is secured has been set forth at length in the patent abovementioned. Of the factors involved in this correlation, three, viz., (a) the volume and quality of the'vapor admitted to the cylinder; (Zj)'ithe speed of the piston or the movable element and (c) the amount of heat suppliedirom' outside sources independently of tlie worlring vapor tot-he working vapor, as bymeans of the jackets, receivers, 'etc.,; are subject to control in an expansion motor.

The volume or" the admitted vapor depends upon the load and :the quality upon that available from the boiler, superheaters, separators'and other usual appliances available. These it is unnecessary toillustrate, but there is shown in the main steam line 52 a separator 67 which is preferably placed on every en- '"gine to separate entrained-moistureiromthe entering steam. The control of the speed of nectedbv' means of'a threaded portion 68 and 10015 'nuts' 69 with a slide block 70 and "is-operated by a connecting rod 71 adjustablelongitudinally by means of an interposed turnbuckle 7 2. This rod is pivoted at one end to the slide block 70 and connected at the opposite end to an eccen ric (3 on the main shai't 15. Theeccentric 7 3 for the connecting rod 71 connected with the slide valve of the high pressure cylinder is shown as controlled by this shaft governor which acts to vary both the 'angularity and eccentricity thereof in accordance with the load conditions. For this purposethe weight 74 supported by the spring 7 5 on the'fly wheel 16 is connected to an arm -76 extending. from the eccentric 73 and acts by'centrifugal action to roclr the eccentric'about a pivotal connection 77 on the fly wheel.

Butit is the third .controllablefactor of the aforesaid correlation with which the presentinvention is more particularly concerned. The i system of j acketing already described enabling heatto be transmitted to the working vapor through the cylinder and piston walls and, in the case Ofmultistage'eXpansion to be supplied to the working'vapor between the expansions, as through the receiver jackets and the jackets of the connections leading to and from the receivers, when .an'adequate heating medium containing an adequatesupply of heat-is-available, renders it possible so to control the amount of heat supplied to the working vapor independently of the working vapor during its expansion as to effect the required correlation quite independently of conditions which may determine the speed of the piston or movable element and the volume and quality of vapor admitted to the motor. While hitherto in practice the extent to which the correlation might be effected has sometimes been limited to securing a correlation in which the average quality of the vapor at the end of the expansion or the average quality of vapor exhausted from the motor complies with the requirements, the control of the heat thus supplied secured by the present invention now enables the correlation to be maintained under varying conditions. This is secured, as has already been pointed out, by the control of the heat thus admitted to the working vapor in accordance with and through the medium of the quality of the exhaust vapor preferably by utilizing the temperature of the exhaust vapor at the existing pressure as a means for actuating the means which controls the amount of heat thus supplied to the jacketing system, thus enabling the maximum efiiciency of the motor under the cycle to be secured under all conditions.

In connection with the quadruple expansion engine illustrated, there is shown a simple and preferred controlling apparatus for the heat supplied to the working steam from 4 outside sources independently of the working steam during the expansion. This apparatus is illustrative merely and for the purpose of presenting a specific embodiment of one of the many forms which an apparatus may take to embody the present invention.

A main 7 8 conducts a heating medium and it must be of such size as to conduct an adequate amount and the medium itself must be capable to supply an adequate amount of heat. This medium may, for example, be steam. From this main branches 79 extend, preferably one for each of the units or stages of expansion into which the motor isdivided and which is to be thus equipped. A branch 79 is connected to each jacket and to the receiver by connections disposed in any convenient manner. A manually operated valve 80 is provided for regulating each branch 79, a similar valve 81 is provided between the branch pipe and the receiver, a similar valve 82 between the branch pipe and the ,connection 28 to the cylinder jacket, similar valves 83 between the branch pipe and the connections 29 to the cylinder heat jackets, and a similar valve 84 between the branch pipe and the connection 30 to the piston jacket. By means of such valves, the flow of the heating medium to each acket and to the receiver may be controlled independently to any desired extent.

exhaust.

The automatic control may be provided at any one or any number of points in the sys tem, but it will usually be found sufficient to provide a single automatic control for each branch 79, leaving further control and regulation to be obtained by the valves already described. This is the construction illustrated. In each branch 7 9, between the main 7 8 and the controlling valve 80, is located an automatic valve, indicated as a whole at 85, the movement of which is automatically controlled by a thermostat 86 located in the This thermostatically controlled valve may be of any suitable construction and type. That illustrated, somewhat in detail in Fig. 11 and in general in Fig. 3, is of a commercial form in use for many years. The valve comprises a casing inserted in the pipe 79 and presenting in the valve chamber valve seats 87 cooperating with the valves ,35 88 mounted on the stem 89. This double valve is provided in the form illustrated so that the valve maybe balanced. The stem 89 leads through a packing gland 90 and is connected to an expansible and contractible me- 90 tallic bellows 91 located at the other end of the casing. The thermostat 86 is hollow and provided with a pipe 92 leading therefrom to the bellows 91. The thermostat and pipe are supplied with vapor and, as is well "9 known, a rise in temperature adjacent the thermostat causes this vapor to expand and the bellows 91 to expand, giving a closing movement to the valves, while a drop in temperature causes the opposite result. A lever 93 pivoted to the valve stem 89 at 94 and fulcrumed on the link 95 and provided with an adjustable weight 96 insures the opening movement of the valve stem. The thermostat 86 for each control should be'; 105 placed in the exhaust passageway as close to the exhaust port from the motor as possible.

A thermometer 97 and a pressure gauge 98 are also preferably located in the exhaust adjacent the thermostats so that the quality of the exhaust is readily ascertainable at all times by the readings on these instruments and the data of the steam tables.

The preferable method of operation for such a four-stage unit as the quadruple ex-i pansion engine illustrated would be as follows, to supply vapor of such volume and quality, i. e., superheated to such an extent, that it will perform all the adiabatic work in the high pressure cylinder, or the first stage, when supplied thereto. Consequently, heat supplied from the jackets to the working vapor causes the working vapor to ex haust from the first stage in a superheated condition. This exhaust vapor passes next into the receiver and from thence into the next stage, or the second cylinder, the superheated condition thereof being increased by the heat supplied from the receiver. In the second stage, the temperature of the enclos- 1 --the stage or cylinder as is possible.

of the movable element or pistonissufficient-v lygreat, the working vapor may leave this stage with asmanyor even more thermal units than it a superheated condition, notwithstanding those heat units abstracted by work performance. As the working vapor enters the second receiver, and from thence the third stage or third cylinder,

working vapor will be still greater, so that even more heat may be added. I As a result, the working vapor shouldenter the last stage or cylinder with a. considerable amount of superheat. '7 In this last stage the correlation should be effected, as bymeans of the automatic control from the final exhaust, to add only that amount of heat needed to exhaust thevapor in a saturated condition. control may the last stage or cylinder, as by the second automatic controlling meansillustrated in connection with the third cylinder, if a more regular result can thus be obtained. When the load or the speedvaries considerablyand one or the other or both do on all engines at times to some extent-it may be desirable to extend the control further bacx to preceding stages. It is to be understood, theree fore, that controlling devices, such as illustrated inconnection with the last two stages,

may be applied to any or all and even to the That is to say the first stage, if required.

final exhaust with automatic control in the the accompanying independent regulation of the different ,ackets for the motor and receiver is applicable to one or all of the stages and may control the preceding or succeeding stages or to all stages.

\Vhen heat has been added to the working vapor during the expansion beyond that necessary to maintain amount equal to a part or all of such heat, exhausting in able for work performance and consequently much heat should be thus added and uti- -lized in work pe formance as possible. The greatest ethciency will be secured when the control of this invention maintains the exhaust saturated.

The thermometer in the final exhaust indicates the temperature and therefore the qual' ity of the exhaust vapor at the existing pressure shown by the gauge and these instruments, as well as the thermostats and controls, should be placed as near the outlet from The quality of the exhaust can therefore be predetermined to any desired degree automati cally through the thermostatic controls set by means of the thermometer. If desired, in

contained upon entering or my the difference in temperature between the enclosing surfacesand the This be carried back tothe next to supply of heat to any h the vapor saturated, an

the form of superheat, is avail slightly superheated,

the'case of'asteam engine the thermostats may be set tothat temperature which causes the boiler to burn the leastv amount of coal, or the thermostat may be set to the point at which the engine uses the least weight of steam. Any desirable gauge for the best re sult can be utilized for this purpose.

A concrete example will illustrate what may be accomplished by adding heat" units to theworkingsteam in some stage or stages of the expansion above what are necessary to maintain the steamsaturated during expan-' sion and by extracting an equal or less num ber of heat units in work performance in addition. to those abstracted under the dry steam cycle. As'sume, for example, an engine operating under the dry steam cycle and time and abstracting, in useful work 283.5

thermal'units in the same unit of time. The

efiiciency would be expressed thus:

Now assume the. same conditions plus the condition that thermal units be supplied duringthe same unit of timefrom the jackets to the steam during expansion in addition to those previously required to maintain the steam saturated, thus superheatingthe working steam, and that ,10 thermal units in the same unit of time are abstracted in additional work performance so that the steam is again exhausted saturated. It follows that both. the numerator and denominator of the foregoing fraction indicating efliciency have been increased by thesame amount thus:

1420 10 f 1430 T hus it appears-that that part of the cycle represented here by lOthermal units added to the working steam and 10 thermal units transformed into additional Work isl00% efficient so that any. increase'of this character brings the fraction indicating efficiency nearer'to unity and thusincreases the efficiency of the entire cycle. But it will be observed that there may be an increase in efficiency' even if a less number of thermal units-be added to the numerator than to the' denominator, that is, if the steam be somewhat superheated at exhaust. Suppose, for example, in the above equation that while ten thermal units are .added duringexpansion, 5 thermal units are abstracted in work performance and the steam'is thus exhausted the equation would be only equal and so long as this ratio and percentage is greater than there must be a gain in the total efliciency of the cycle.

It is a question to be decided from the operating conditions as to whether or not the temperature of the j acketing medium should not be varied. in the later intermediate stages or even in certain jackets of these stages or should not be gradually reduced so as correspondingly to reduce the temperature of the Walls with which the working'steam comes into contact during this portion of the expansion. In a vertical cylinder engine, heat should be supplied to the heads and the piston whenever possible, and in a horizontal engine to the heads and the cylinder, the object being to supply heat at the lowest points where condensation might tend to form and accumulate.

As has already been pointed out, the corre lation may be effected by means of the control from the thermostat in the exhaust so that any desired quality of exhaustvapor is secured with any of a wide range of qualities of the working vapor during the expansion in a multi-cylinder engine and this is done by limiting the amount of heat supplied in the last stage; but unless all the heat is transmitted through the walls to the working vapor that is possible in the first three stages,

or at least the first two, under any normal condition, the efliciency of the engine is not at its maximum- Where the 'control is carried back to the jackets preceding those of the last cylinder, the amount of wire drawing to the jackets may be less in the earlier stage or stages, thus making the reduction intemperature more gradual. The thermostat maybe set to operate at a little higher temperature or the valve controlled by the thermostat may be so set as not to be affected as much by the same rise in the temperature as is the valve controlling the low pressure cylinder acket.

If it'is desirable actually to ascertain the quality of the vapor at the end of any stage of expansion, it may be done by any of the usual instrumentalities. For example, pressure gauges 99 and thermometers 100 may be inserted in the exhaust chambers such as 21, as shown in Fig. 8.

The application of the principles of this invention to other motors than the reciprocating piston steam engine will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and as indicating such further application, there is shown in Fig. 10 a simple form of construction applicable for a steam turbine, shown as having three stages of expansion. The stator 101 is shown as provided at the admission end with the nozzle 102 and at the exhaust end With the exhaust opening 103 and is divided into three stages by the diaphragms 104 in which are located the guides 105 increasing toward the exhaust end. The rotor shaft 106 is supported in suitable bearings in the stator and is provided in each cell or stage of the stator with the disks 107 carrying at their peripheries the buckets 108, also increasing in cross sectional area toward the exhaust end. The parts thus far described are, and may be, of usual construction, the details of which 1t is'unnecessary to illustrate or describe.

The means for supplying heat from outside sources to the interior surfaces of the stator are in this form of device illustrated as steam jackets surrounding the stages and preferably formed as an integral part thereof. For this purpose, the stator casing is shown as made with two walls 109 and 110, and with the dividing walls 111 so that the jacketing chambers 112, 113 and 114 are formed. The outlets from these chambers which in the case of steam may extend to a steam trap or back to the boiler are indicated at 115. The diaphragms 104 are also preferably provided with acketing chambers 116 in communication with the jacket chambers in the casing.

As suitable means for securing the jacketing 'of the rotor, the disks 107 are shown as provided with the chambers 117. A conduit 118 enters the rotor shaft 106 axially and communicates with the chamber 117 in the first stage of the rotor at the point nearest the axis. A conduit 119 extends from a point at the extreme periphery of the chamber 117 in the first stage through to the jacketing chamber 117 of the next stage and so on. Similar connections are made until the last connection leaves the last stage of the rotor at the point nearest the axis and passes out at 120 at the opposite end of the shaft. Because the exhaust in each stage of the rotor is from the extreme periphery of the acketing chamber and the admission of each stage is at the point nearest the axis, any condensation occurring is carried through by the force of the jacketing steam and discharged at 120, the only requirement being that the pressure of the steam in the acket must be great enough to overcome the centrifugal force of the condensate.

The automatic controls, in accordance with the principles already disclosed, may be applied to all or as many of the jacket chambers of the rotor and stator as may be found desirable. For the purpose of illustrating one form of the invention as applied to the turbine, automatic controls are shown extending to the three jacketing chambers of the stator. For this purpose, branch pipes 121, 122 and 123 extend respectivelyfrom the main to the chambers 112, 113 and 114. Valves 124, 125 and 126, which may be of the type already illustrated in detail in Fig.

11, are located respectivelyin thesebranch pipes and the correspondingactuating thermostats 127 in the last stage. When the vapor is used in a turbine, the

conditions are similar. to those in the engine,; exceptthat it is more difficult to acket the; surfaces as completely and it may be that the jacketsin the last stages otthe-turbinemay 1'0? only be used to a small extent as heat transformers. The vapor may, with advantage, be

exhausted from the turbine in a supersatu rated condition because there is not so much danger of cumulat1ve" losses taking place in 157 the turbine, but in such cases water is likely to cause fr ctional losses if excessive. But'inv any event, the controls of this invention enable the correlation'to be effected from the exhaust to secure the required and predetermined. qua'lityot the exhaustvapor.

While in the constructions of .multi-cylinr;

der engines and multi-stage turbines shown in the drawings thus far referred to. 'l'or lllustratin'g the invention, the controls are, or more,

253 shown as operated by. the quality,

specifically the temperature of the exhaust at the existing pressurefrom the final cyl-' inder or stage, itwill be recognized that the invention is not limited to this particular.

arrangement. It may be desirable to eii-ect the control from the quality, or the temperature at the existing pressure, 01": the vapor at the exhaust from some earlier cylinder orstage. Thus the devices responsive to changes m quality or temperature maybe located in the exhaust passageway from any cylinder or stage and arranged to'con rol the supply of the acketing vapor to any or all of the cyl.- inders' or stages.

engine similar toithat shown in Figs. 1' and 2.

The thermostats 580 and 681 located in the exhaust from the cylinder at are shown as controlling through the automatic valves 850 and 851.respectively, the supply of acketing vapor for the receiver and jackets otthe cylinders l and 3, respectively. The thermostats 682 and 683'located in theexhaustcyl- 'inder 3 are shown as controlling through the automatic. valves 852 and 853,.respectively,

the supply of jaclreting vapor for the receiver and jacketsof the cylindersB and 2,.respec= tl'vely. The thermostat 684i locatedin the exhaust trom the cyl1nder2 is'shown as conexhaust space 128 of the Thusa very elastic system 1s provided by this invention readilyadapted. to any concelvable set of conditions that may to be understood that even here trolling. through. the automatic valve 854 the supply of jacketing vapor for the receiver and jackets of the cylinder 2. .Any' number of thermostats and controllingvalves may thus be provided so as to control from the quality of the exhaust at any stage the supply of thejacketing vapor to any or. all ofthe stages. Y

' So also, as illustrated in Fig. 13, the same idea is applicable to the multi-stage turbine.

Here the turbine is shown as of similar cons structionto that shown in Fig. 10. The

thermostats 127 located in the exhaustfrom thefinal stage through thecontrollingvalves 124-, 125 and 126 control the supply of jacket ing vapor of each one of the stages. The thermostats 127a located in; the exhaust from the next: to the last stage through the controlling valves 124a and 125a control the supply of .jacketing vapor to that stage and the preceding or first stage. The thermostat 1271) located in the first stage through the controla ling valve 124:?) controls the supply of jacket: 4

ing vapor to that stage. vapor from the exhaust at any stage may be utilized and determine the supply of the jaclreting vapor to any or allot the stages.

It Willrbe desirable to providemeans for Thus the quality 0t.

enabling of the automatically controlled,-

valves to be disconnected from the thermostatic controland, left open so as'to enable the controlto be effected throughthe manually operated valves.

A simple construction to enable any of the thermostatically controlled valves to bedis: connected and left open is shown in Fig. 14.:

The construction illustrated is the same as that in Fig. 11, excepting that the steam 89- of the valve proper is providedwith a sockcted lower end 890. The'stem 8910011- nected to the upper end of the bellows 91v enters the socket. the stems 891 and 89' to be connected or the. stem 891 simply to move freely up and down in the socket 890. The weighted lever. 93 is pivotally connected at94lO to the socket 890. When, therefore, any thermostatically con- A set screw, 892 enables:

trolled valve is to be operated, the. set screw- 892 18 setup and the valve acts in the usual manner already described; When any such.

valve is to be left open and thrown out of operation, the set screw 892'is disconnected so that .movements of the stem 891 due to'the' thermostat are not transferred to the: stem 89 and consequently to the valve. The weighted lever 3 being'pivoted to the socket 890 also acts, when the set screw' 892 is loosened to move the valve to its open position;

So also the application of the principles of this invention, so far as available, to the single' cylinder type of motor willbe apparent. Such a motor in the form of a single cylinder reciprocating. engine is shown: dia'-. grammatically in plan view in; Fig.9; This engine is shown as of similar construction to the first stage of the quadruple expansion engine already illustrated and described and it will be unnecessary, therefore, to describe the details thereof. The steam main 129, which leads to such'of the ackets of the cylinder and piston as may be desired, has located therein an automatically controlled valve 130, for example, of the type already described in detail, actuated by a thermostat 131 located in the exhaust. A fly wheel governor 132, for example, of the same type as already described, controls the speed. In a single expansion engine or motor, represented by this construction, the advantages of the invention are secured in which the correlation'of the Various factors set forth in the aforesaid patent are automatically effected and maintained from the quality of the exhaust vapor or steam and the amount of heat added from outside sources independently of the working vapor to the working vapor is under complete control from the quality of the ex haust and in either case a predetermined quality of the exhaustvapor or steam within the limitations of the engine may thereby be secured. The other advantages of the present invention involving the utilization in work performance at high eificiency of heat over and above that required to maintain the vapor in saturated condition during expansion cannot be secured in this instance because most of such heat would be added just before the exhaust opened and most of it would be wasted. Additional work would be performed due to the increase in mean efi'ective pressure, but the efliciency of the operation would be reduced.

Thus far in illustrating constructions 1 adapted to embody the principles of the incorresponding to its pressure, if supersaturated or wet it is at the temperature corresponding to the pressure of dry saturated vapor but contains some moisture which is also at the same temperature as the vapor, if superheated the temperature is higher than that corresponding to the pressure when dry saturated or supersaturated. Therefore the term saturated pressure temperature is herein adopted as conveniently defining the temperature of the vapor in saturated condition at the pressure prevailing.

If now the back pressure varies materially, as, for example, due to changes in the temperature of a cooling medium of a condenser, the thermostatic means effecting the control must be neutral to changes in saturated pressure temperature and accurately responsive to changes in quality of the exhaust vapor, in other words, such means must effect the desired control only by the variation in the differential between the temperature of the vapor at the exhaust and at the source of back pressure.

In Figs. 15 and 16 there is shown a simple form of means embodying this principle for effecting the control when the exhaust is against a varying back pressure. It will be understood that these figures are merely illustrative of the principle and that the mechanical means employed may be widely varied.

In Fig. 15 the exhaust pipe 200 leads from the low pressure cylinder 201 of a multi-expansion engine, such as shown, for example, in Figs. 3 or 12 to a condenser 202. In the main 203 islocated a valve mechanism 204 having a stem 205 and which may be of a type such as shown in Fig. 11 or 14. A valve 206 in the main 203 enables the flow of the jacketing steam through the main and valve 204 to be manually controlled while the bypass 207, about the valves 204 and 206, containing the valve 208 enables the jacketing steam to be supplied when the valve 204 1s closed.

A thermostat 209 is located in the path of the exhaust vapor close to the exhaust port and may be of the character already described in which changes in temperature of the thermostat cause expansion and contraction of fluid in the pipe 210. A similar thermostat 211 is shown placed in some chamber or in some position in which it is subjected to the saturated pressure temperature of the back pressure, here shown as the condenser 202, and the fluid pipe 212 leads therefrom. A base plate 213 located in a convenient position has mounted thereon parallel slide bars 214 and 215 sliding in guides 216. Suitable springs 217 seated, for example, between the lower guides 216 and collars 218 on the respective slide bars act to oppose the ex pansive action of the fluid in the pipes 210 and 212.

In this construction these pipes each extend to a. bellows construction 219 of a character similar to that shown in Figs. 11 and 14 and the slide bars 214 and 215 rest against the top of the bellows. The slide bar 215 carries a laterally projecting arm 220 adjustably secured thereto by the set screw 221 and this arm at its free end is provided with an electrical contact 222. The slide bar 214 carries a similar laterally projecting arm 223 adjustably secured by a set screw 224. This arm is provided with a cooperative electrical contact 225. This contact is shown as a plunger seated in a cylinder 226 on the end of the arm 223 and in this cylinder is a spring 227 acting to force the plunger up against the inturned rim of the cylinder. The stem 205 of the valve 204 is connected to the core 228 of a solenoid. A suitable source of electrical energy is provided, for example, a

generator 229 connected to the contact 225 while a wire 230 runs from the contact 222 to the winding 231 of the armature of the solenoid and thence to the ground. Suitable insulation is, of course, provided wherever necessary.

Thus it will be seen that any changes in the saturated pressure temperature affect equally the thermostats 209 and 211 causing the respective slide bars 214 and 215 to have equal increments of movement in one direction or the other and thus maintaining the contacts 222 and 225 in the same relative position. If, however, the quality of the exhaust vapor at the point where the thermostat 209 is located varies or, in other words,

there is a variation in the differential be tween the temperature of the vapor at the exhaust where the thermostat 209 is located and the temperature at the source of the back ressure or where the thermostat 211 is located, then there will be a differential in the movement of the slide bars 214 and 215 thus causing the contacts 222 and 225 to move in a closing or separating direction, in the one case, through the energization of the solenoid, effecting or maintaining the closing of the valve 204, and in the other case, through the de-energization of the solenoid and the action of gravity, effecting or maintaining the opening of the valve 204. The adjustments provided enable the spacing between the contacts 222 and 225 to be set with any desired degree of accuracy thus to cause the opening and closing of the valve 204 to be effected by any desired degree in the variation of the differential between the temperature at the exhaust and the temperature at the source of back pressure. The bypass 207, with its manually controlled valve 208 extending around the control valve and manual valve in the main supplying the jacketing medium to the motor, enables heat to be supplied to the jackets of the motor when the control valve is closed, as when the motor is not in operation, otherwise enough heat might radiate from the jackets or be conducted to the thermostat located at the exhaust to effect the operation of the thermostat to close the control valve.

Under ordinary conditions, as already pointed out, as for example, when the jacketing medium is taken from the same source as the working vapor and permitted to enter at the same temperature and the range of expansion is large, as in a multi-expansion engine, the action would be to maintain the vapor at the exhaust so highly superheated that the controlling valve would seldom be open if the valve were of moderate capacity. A manually controlled valve 206 in the main,

therefore, enables the jacketing vapor to be throttled down to such an amount that the controlling valve will normally be open.

The closeness of the regulation secured by any of these devices would depend upon the number of degrees variation in temperature that is required to cause the make or break of contact and to insure that the current em ployed will not jump across the gap between the contacts 222 and 225.

Fig. 16 illustrates the application of a similar mechanism to the final stage of a turbine, such, for example, as shown in Fig. 10 or 13. Here the exhaust passage 300 is shown as extending from the exhaust chamber of the turbine to a condenser 301. A thermostat 302 is shown located in the exhaust and another 303 in the condenser, and the pipes 304 and 305 lead respectively from these thermostats to a mechanism such as that illustrated and described in connection with Fig. and the operation is the same.

It is very evident that the thermostats and the controls herein described may be utilized in many diiferent arrangements for any specific purpose which may be desired, and while practical arrangements have been shown herein it is not desired to limit the invention in any manner to the specific cases shown.

The control may, therefore, in accordance with the principles of this invention, be efiected at any stage of expansion either where the back pressure is uniform or varying and may act to control the supply of heat to that or any other stage in order to secure the desired quality of vapor at the exhaust from that stage or any other stage.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is:

A vapor motor having a chamber for supplying heat to the working vapor during its passage through the motor, a conduit for the heating medium passing to said chamber, a valve in said conduit, two thermo-responsive elements located in the exhaust from the motor, one at a point where it is subject to the temperature of the vapor as it leaves the motor, and the other at a point where it is subject to the saturated pressure temperature, and means jointly controlled by said elements acting to operate the valve to control the heat supplied therethrough to the working vapor and thereby the quality of the vapor exhausted from the motor.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

JOSEPH G. PROSSER. 

